Getting REAL About Research
Undergraduate students across disciplines are turning curiosity into hands-on research that shapes careers, communities, and real-world impact.
By Kate Vander Vort ’27
Undergraduate research in the College of Arts and Sciences is more than an academic requirement, it is an opportunity for students to ask big questions, explore complex systems, and make sense of the world around them. Through the REAL program, students across disciplines are given the resources, mentorship, and support to pursue meaningful, hands-on research that extends far beyond the classroom.
From the arts and humanities to the natural and social sciences, the REAL program empowers students to take ownership of their work, collaborate closely with faculty mentors, and apply their research to real-world issues.
Humanities Research and Critical Social Analysis
In the humanities, research often means recovering voices that have been overlooked or forgotten. Sophie Copple ’26, an English and French & Francophone Studies major with a minor in philosophy, is expanding a digital humanities project focused on underrepresented authors from the modernist literary period. Supported by the REAL program, Sophie is building on work she began with faculty mentorship to transform her research into an online archive accessible to students, scholars, and the public.
“A lot of this project grew out of work I was already doing with my professor,” Copple said. “I realized how many modernist authors, especially women, just aren’t talked about.”
The archive allows visitors to spend just a few minutes learning about each author’s life and work, lowering the barrier to engagement while encouraging deeper exploration. For Sophie, the REAL program provided the time, funding, and structure needed to expand her project beyond traditional coursework.
“The goal of the archive is to make these authors more accessible,” she explained. “You can spend five minutes learning about someone’s life and work, and hopefully that sparks deeper engagement.”
Through the project, Sophie has developed skills in project management, archival research, and critical textual analysis, while also redefining what undergraduate research can look like.
“Leading my own project taught me that research doesn’t have to fit into a narrow box,” she said. “You really can research whatever you’re curious about.”
Scientific Research and Biological Systems
For neuroscience and biology major Colin Smith ’26, REAL-supported research takes place at the cellular level. As a research assistant in assistant professor Andrew Evans’ neuroscience lab, Colin studies why noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus, a small region near the brainstem, are especially vulnerable in Alzheimer’s disease.
“The locus coeruleus develops pathology very early in Alzheimer’s disease, even before cognitive symptoms appear,” Smith said. “That makes it a crucial area to study if we want to understand early mechanisms of neurodegeneration.”
Through the REAL program, Colin has gained hands-on laboratory experience while working closely with faculty mentors on cutting-edge research. His day-to-day work includes preparing mouse brain tissue, optimizing immunohistochemistry protocols, and analyzing fluorescent microscopy images using tools like GraphPad Prism and Fiji. “This experience has helped me understand how research is actually designed and carried out,” he said. “It’s pushed me toward pursuing biotech research before medical school.”
Social Science Research and Institutional Change
The REAL program also supports research that directly impacts the SCU community. Political science major Kaylee Jensen ’27 spent her summer interning with Santa Clara University’s Basic Needs Program, where she analyzed five years of data related to housing and food insecurity among students.
“My interest in researching basic needs insecurity was inspired by my own lived experiences,” Jensen said. “I have used the Basic Needs Program as a student, and this opportunity allowed me to give back in a meaningful way.”
Through her REAL-supported internship, Kaylee conducted data analysis, completed a literature review, and developed actionable recommendations to improve services and partnerships on campus. The work strengthened her research, analytical, and communication skills while reinforcing her long-term commitment to social justice and public service.
“This was the first time I had the opportunity to do work I was truly passionate about,” she said. “Seeing how data can directly inform policy and improve student support was incredibly impactful.”
Research That Prepares Students
Across disciplines, REAL scholars describe research as a way to understand complex systems, whether biological, cultural, environmental, or institutional, while developing skills that extend far beyond academics. Central to each project is faculty mentorship, which provides guidance while allowing students the independence to take ownership of their work.
By funding undergraduate research, fostering close faculty-student collaboration, and emphasizing real-world impact, the REAL program prepares students to become scholar-practitioners, individuals who pair intellectual rigor with a commitment to justice, compassion, and meaningful change. As these students move forward in their academic and professional journeys, their work reflects Santa Clara University’s mission to educate individuals of competence, conscience, and compassion.
About the REAL Program
The REAL Program provides paid experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Developed to allow students to discover their interests, gain a rich understanding of a particular field, discern their career goals, and explore future employment fields, the program has distributed roughly $3.25 million to more than 860 students across all majors since its inception in 2018. Placements range from non-profit and community service organizations to research labs, governmental organizations, and beyond.